Come What May
by IKnowHowTheSafetyWorks
Summary: Alternate ending to 'Arrow on the Doorpost' and what would have happened following. Andreas decision changes everything. But for the beter? Disclaimer: I don't own TWD.
1. Catalyst

**Come What May**

Ch.1: Catalyst  


The decision was perhaps harder than it should have been. It was clear who was in the right and who was in the wrong in this particular situation, but knowing that her decision could potentially start a war which could end them all put a lot of pressure on Andrea's choice. At the same time, knowing what the right choice was, _who_ the right choice was, put her between a rock and a hardplace.

In the end, there were no words spoken.

She simply got into Ricks car, instead of Philips.

She couldn't look as the car drove away, as Philip climbed into his own and drove in the opposite direction. She sat in the passenger seat of their car. Beside her, Rick drove in silence. Hershel put a hand on her shoulder through the gap between hers and Ricks chairs. She didn't acknowledge the hand, just stared ahead, wondering what her choice could do to them alll, wondering if she would live to be thankful for her decision.

Her welcome back to the prison was warm. Carol hugged her, Carl tilted the hat he wore in her direction and smiled at her, an action she would have expected from a man twice his years, Glenn embraced her with a joyous laugh and even Maggie looked happy to see her. Beth handed her Judith and Andrea rejoiced at the feeling of the small, warm body in her hands. It was amazing, to her, that something so innocent and perfect could still exist in this damaged and desolage world. Even Carl had been corrupted by the horrifc things he'd seen, the things he'd done. If she looked closely, she could see that the little bundle in her arms had her mothers eyes. Big, brown, lashes as long as Andereas own. She glanced at Rick, unable to comtemplate how hard it must be for him to see Judith every day and see her not only as his daughter, a baby, but also as a constant reminder not only of his dead wife, but of her infidelity to him. Of course, there was always the chance that Judith was his child and Andrea knew that Rick wouldn't treat the child any differently to how he'd treat Carl, but the doubt would always be there. She couldn't imagine that kind of emotional torture.

Andrea could see Rick, Hershel, Glenn and Daryl in the corner discussing something and handed the gurgling baby to Beth, who was wielding a freshly made bottle. She walked over to where the men stood in council and situated herself between Rick and Daryl. For a moment, their speech halted and they looked at her. Daryl shrugged.

"Seems about right. Ladies always been 'one of the guys'." He smirked at Andrea, who rolled her eyes. Rick cleared his throat before continuing, his speech directed at Andrea.

"We need a battle plan." Rick stated, "My guess is your Governor isn't-"

"He is not _my_ Governor." It was a small point, a passing comment but Andrea couldn't let it hang in the air, she had to cut it down almost as quickly as it was put there. She felt the need to defend herself and her actions. Ever since their final night together, the night she had gone willingly to his bed, even after knowing all of the awful things he'd done, the things he was capable of, she'd felt tainted. Whether she'd gone with the intention of killing him was irrelevant; she'd not been able to do it, so it had become a moot point almost as soon as the thought crossed her mind. She couldn't kill a human being, not in their sleep, no matter how sadistic they may be. Self-defence was hard enough for her. Killing Walkers was almost easy, had become almost second nature now: it was what they had to do to survive. But humans? Taking a human life felt like taking away her own humanity.

"OK." Rick acknowledged her comment with a slight nod before continuing. "My guess is he's not likely to let this lie, especially now that you're back here."

"He's going to see this as me turning my back on him, on Woodbury." She said, "Only half of which is true. He might be evil, and he might plant rotten seeds in their minds but the people of Woodbury are good people. They're innocent people and self-defence I understand, but unless it's unavoidable, we can't kill them."

"We might not have a choice." Daryl pointed out and Andrea nodded.

"I get that, really I do, but I know these people and they're just as scared as we were, as we are. We might have learned to push down how scared we are and hide it, but you all know as well as I do that, in the end, there's no way out of this and that scares me. If it doesn't scare you, I don't think any of you are the people I thought you were." She turned to look at Rick, her speech having become a little more agressive than she had intended, "What happened to 'we don't kill the living', Rick?"

"That was before the living started trying to kill us." Rick stated, not looking at her, but down at the floor.

"I agree with Andrea," Hershel said, gruffly, "It seems more than plausable that the citizens of Woodbury are being hoodwinked by this Governor into thinking that we are the dangerous ones in this equation. They're going to defend themselves, as are we, but it would be desirable to get through this with as few casualties as possible. On both sides."

"Hear, hear." Glenn agreed.

"The governor needs to die." Andrea stated. She couldn't look at them, but she knew they were all looking at her. "He's sadistic and cruel. And he needs to die."

"But, I thought-" Rick stated. Andrea cut him off.

"I know what you thought." She looked him straight in the eyes, seeing only him. "But I'm not the romantic heart you clearly have me pinned as. Not anymore...Sex. It was just sex."

She could see in her peripheral vision that her comment made Glenn blush. Hershel gruffly cleared his throat and Daryl glanced away. Rick held her eyes. She watched the muscle in his jaw jump once before he looked away and drew the back of his hand across his lips.

"Still don't settle the matter of a plan." Daryl stated, slicing through the tension of the moment.

"We don't know when they're coming." Rick said, "So we need a plan that can go ahead at a moments notice."

"I can go back. Figure out when they're coming here." Andrea volunteered. "Say I came here to try and figure out your plan. Feed him some crap?"

"No, I don't like the sound of that. He 'aint gonna be too happy about you coming here, working against us or not. You'd be putting yourself in a danger."

"Do we have another choice?"

"I don't see one." Daryl said.

Glenn, who had remained silent for a while, chose this moment to perk up. "Maybe they're right, Rick. Maybe he'll buy it. Either way, I don't see us having another option right now."

"You wanna be responsible for whatever happens to her?" Ricks voice came out louder this time, he advanced on Glenn. "Want her blood on your hands if he lays his on her?"

"She's still here and she has ears." Andrea interrupted, stepping forwards, between Glenn and Rick. "And she also as a brain. I can make my own choices."

"When are you gonna come back?" He asked, not stepping back from her. His voice had returned to its softness, but there was a rumbling anger beneath the surface. "What if you can't?"

"If I'm not back tomorrow..." She left the statement hanging and inhaled deeply. "I will be back. I chose him over you all once. Thats not a mistake I'm willing to make again."

She turned on her heel and, passng the others, strolled out of the room, heading for the exit.

Outside, Rick found her opening the doors to one of their vehicles.

"Andrea." He called out her name and she halted in her actions, turning to face him. "Take this."

He held out his gun to her. She looked from the gun to Rick and then, sighing, took it. There was a moment of silence before either of them spoke.

"I wouldn't be going back if it wasn't a necessity. I hope you know that, Rick."

"I do." He replied, softly. "Just...be careful. I...We can't lose anyone else."

He seemed to be finding it hard to meet her eyes, his own were on the floor but she nodded anyway. She hessitated before stepping forward and kissing his cheek, smiling as she stepped back.

"Thank you. For everything. I'll be back as soon as I can." She climbed into the car and drove away, not daring to look in the mirror, scared she wouldn't be able to keep driving.

* * *

**So...after the season finale I figured Rickrea is gonna have to be kept alive on here. Most of the fics I've found have been One-shots so I thought, why not go for a lengthier fic? My first one, as you can see. **

**Hope you guys enjoy it.**


	2. Tainted Love

**Come What May**

Ch.2: Tainted Love  


Andrea wasn't exactly expecting a warm welcome back to Woodbury, but the reaction from the Governor was still surprising to her.

"Bitch." He swung at for her a second time and she flew into the wall, almost crushing her shoulder as she did so, almost definitely dislocating it. "You think you can just come back here, stroll back in like nothing has changed, like you didn't chose them!"

"I..I didn't," She tried to speak through the tears she didn't want to let spill. "I went...went too infiltrate-"

"Lying little whore!" He yelled, gripping her hair as he dragged her to her feet. She scrambled for her footing, yelling out from the pain of having her hair ripped out by the roots. Tears started to slowly roll down her cheeks and her shoulder screamed from the pain, as did her head, but she refused to do so.

"N-no, I went back...found out their plan...for you...us!" She managed to gasp out, between sharp intakes of breath. She was still winded from having been thrown across the room and her face was on fire. She could see herself in the mirror and was appalled. Her left eye was red and would soon be black. Her nose might be broken, she didn't know, but could see a bruise spreading across it already. Her lip was split from the second time he'd swung at her face, and blood dripped down her chin.

Suddenly, she felt his grip on her hair loosten and she fell to her knees, her hand immediately going to her now tender scalp. Her own touch made her hiss in pain and she scuttled away from him, pressing her back against the door. The gun Rick had given her sat in her belt, beneath her shirt. She was so tempted to take it out and use it as her escape, but she'd come here for a reason and wouldn't leave until her job was complete.

She glanced to the table and saw two empty bottles of whiskey. Sighing, she pushed herself to her feet and walked over to where Philip sat, head in his hands. It was one of the hardest things she'd ever done, but she reached out a hand to his shoulder and rubbed it, as if comforting him.

"Hey," She managed to whisper, "You're drunk."

"Hmm." He replied, gruffly. He didn't look at her.

"I really did come back to help you, you know. They're not my friends anymore, Philip. They're not my family. You are. You're all I've got left."

The words were hard to say, but se hoped they came out easily and believably. Apparently they did because Philip stood and turned in one motion, his hands reaching to her tender face. She flinched the contact. His thumb ran over her split lip and for a moment, something in his eyes changed.

"You're beautiful, you know that?" He said. She made no reply. To her, she looked anything but beautiful at this moment in time. Her heart beat wildly in her chest. If felt so wrong to her, being here, with him. But she was playing a part, and she couldn't play it halfway. She forced a smile.

Suddenly, his lips crased down on hers and his tongue roughly invaded her mouth. Every nerve in her body screamed in protest. This kiss was so different to the one they had shared in the garden. That had been tender, soft. This was rough, animalistic, callous. She wanted nothing more than to push him away, but she had to play her part and so, once again, she followed him to his bed.

* * *

She woke up at first light.

She had curled up as far away from Philip as she could. Even in sleep, she couldn't bring herself to do anything but despise him. While his hands were on her, all she could do was wish they weren't. It took everything inside of her to keep from flinching and shrinking away. She felt dirty, disgusted with herself. Throwing back the sheet, she stood up and walked into Philips bathroom. She let the water run over her as it turned, slowly, from freezing to luke-warm to hot. She scrubbed herself over and over with the soap and still she didn't feel clean. Tears started rolling down her face and she roughly swiped them away.

"Ah!" She cried out as her hand came into contact with her bruises and she remembered the state her face was in. She couldn't go out in public looking like this but the last thing she wanted to do was stay holed up in the Governors appartment. Stepping out of the shower, she grabbed a towel and dried herself off, wringing out her hair as she did so.

"You got up pretty early."

She jumped at his voice as she walked back into the room, the towel wrapped tightly around her, to search for her discarded clothes. She felt vulnerable and crossed her arms across her chest, feigning a smile.

"Yeah, couldn't sleep."

There was silence as he stared at her. She could see him taking in the state of it and turned her face away, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror, she raised a hand to cover her purple and blue face. Her lip had scabbed over night and her cheek was swollen and bruised. She looked a real picture.

"I'm sorry about that." He said. "I never used to get violent with a drink. This world it...it does things to people. And when I thought you'd left me, I have to say, I was rather...upset." He growled out the last word in a way that told Andrea that his anger hadn't fully dissipated. She looked back at him and then glanced over at where she'd left her boots. She'd stealthily slipped her gun into one of them and if he came at her, she had to judge whether or not she'd be able to reach it in time.

"You'll understand if it takes me a little while to trust you again." He stated and she nodded.

"Of course."

"Also, I'd appreciate it if you'd stay here today." He said, standing up and stretching. "Don't want people asking questions about the state of your face."

He dressed and then, giving her a swift kiss on the cheek (she turned her head in the last second), he left.

Once he was gone, Andrea dressed as quickly as she could, pulling on a fresh set of clothes that she'd left there, a white vest-top and a pair of combat shorts, and slipped her gun into the waistband of her shorts. Then she made for the door. It stuck.

"Dammit!" She cursed, trying frantically to open the door. He'd locked it. She shouldn't be surprised, but as the panic rose inside of her, she could't help but wonder what Ricks next move would be. She couldn't decide whether she wanted him to ride to her rescue or not.


	3. Haven

**Come What May**

Ch.4: Haven  


Rick watched from the tower as the sun slowly started to set, Andreas words ringing in his ears.

_"If I'm not back tomorrow..."_

That was yesterday and still no car rolled through the gates. If, by the time the sun set, she wasn't back, Rick was going to get into his car and drive to Woodbury. He didn't know what he'd do once he was there, but he had to do. There was a reason she wasn't back and he'd be willing to lay his own life on the line to bet that bastard had her holed up somewhere. God knew what he'd be doing to her. She shouldn't have gone back.

"Dammit," He cursed outloud, "She shouldn't have gone back!"

"Been thinking that myself." Dary stated. "She should have been back by now."

Rick turned around to see his friend leaning against the wall, looking out at the horizon.

"You gonna go riding in and save her?" He asked and Rick nodded.

"I've gotta. She's my responsibility."

"No, she's not, man. She's her own person." Daryl stated.

"She's part of the group. Part of the family." He stated. Something in him was fighting for her. He couldn't lose another person. Especially not Andrea. Not when he'd already abandoned her. "Man, if it wasn't for me, if I'd just gone back for her, we wouldn't even be in this mess!"

"That ain't fair man, you can't blame yourself." He sighed, pulled something out of his pocket and threw it in Ricks direction. Keys. "Take the bike. I'll keep an eye out here. You better be back by sundown tomorrow, man. Kids need you."

* * *

Andrea had spent the day pacing. She'd not sat down once, she couldn't. Her gun twisted through her hands. More than once, she'd contemplated shooting the lock through but she couldn't risk it. Philip still had to believe she was on his side and she was hoping that if she stayed put for the day, she could prove to him that she could be trusted, maybe she'd be able to sweet talk him into giving up some of the plan. It was a long shot. A _real _long shot. But it was one worth placing a little hope on, if not all of it.

Suddenly, the door opened and she hid the gun behind her back.

"Andrea?"

"Milton!" She exhaled, relieved, as the man rounded the door. "Thank god, it's only you."

"Oh, my god, what happened to your face?" He asked, advancing and gently gripping her chin, tilting her head so he could see the wounds better. "Philip?"

She nodded, taking the hand that held her chin in her own. "You have to help me, you've gotta come back with me, okay? We have to leave, Milton. The man is a goddamn psychopath!"

"I know, Andrea. He's just called a town meeting stating that he wants to attack the prison tomorrow."

Andrea looked at Milton. Was he telling her, knowing she was going to run straight back to Rick and tell him?

"I've gotta go, Milton. And you really should come with me!" She begged, still holding her friends hand. He smiled slightly, pulling it out of her grip and using it to push a strand of her hair behind her ear. He placed his hand on the back of her head, pulling it forward and pressing a kill to her forehead, gently.

"Go. I'll cover your ass here. Tell him you've gotta be a believable double agent, or something."

"Milton-"

"Go." He said, more roughly. "Before I lock you back in."

* * *

The sun had completely set by the time Rick enterred the town in which he knew Woodbury was situated and he decided that abandoning the bike was his best option if he wanted to get anywhere near the town. He pulled his flashlight out of his pocket aiming it at the ground. If there was anything more dangerous than being alone with a bunch of Walkers running around, it was doing it at night.

He hadn't rounded more than three corners when he began to hear moaning and, turning to his left, he saw four Walkers coming at him. He didn't stand a chance in the dark and firing a gun would bring a herd down on him so Rick took his chances that their eyesight was no better than his in the dark, and ran in the opposite direction. He slipped into one of the buildings and pressed his back against one of the windows, watching as the figures of the Walkers passed by, casting shadows. Ducking, he put his head in his hands.

Internally, he was debating over whether to keep heading towards Woodbury in the dark or waiting until morning. God knew what could happen to Andrea between now and then.

"Rick?"

For a second, Rick thought he was imagining her voice in the same way that he'd imagined his dead wife, but when he felt a soft hand touch his own. He looked up and found his eyes meeting her sky blue ones. Her face broke into a smile when their eyes met. He smiled back, joyful, until what little light there was coming from his flashlight illuminated his face. His joy turned to rage as his eyes fell on her bruises.

"That son-of-a-bitch!" He spat, pushing himself to his feet. Andrea stood up as he did and turned away from him slightly. He grabbed her arm and turned her to face him once more, putting a hand to her cheek.

"Dammit, I wish people would stop touching it! Hurts, you know?" She stated pulling his hand away from her face with her own. Neither of them let go of the other hand and Andrea looked down at their entwined fingers. Rick squeezed her hand.

"He did that to you?" He asked and, still not looking at him, she nodded. He felt rage bubble up inside of him. If there was one thing in the world that Rick hated, it was men who hit women. There was nothing humane about a woman-beater. They were as low as rapists in Ricks book and it took all that was in him not to walk into Woodbury in that very minute and give the Governor a world of pain.

He turned away from her and, for a second, she mourned the loss of the warmth of his hand in hers. As an outlet of his rage, Rick growled out a yell of rage and put his hand through one of the wooden stools that was in front of him. It was then that he realized they were in a bar.

"Drink?" He said, gruffly, slipping behind the bar and picking up a bottle of something. He removed the lid and look a long drink. The liquid seared his throat. Rum.

"Not that, from the look on your face." She replied, walking behind the bar herself. She picked up a few bottles, rooting though before she found a few she liked. She picked up a glass and began dusting it off with her sleeve. Once she'd done that, she began mixing the drinks. When that was done, she handed it to Rick who observes it warily. She rolled her eyes. "It's good. Trust me."

It was. Rick sipped it cautiously at first but once the flavour filled his mouth, he discarded the Rum he still held and nodded to Andrea. "Never took you as the drink-mixing type."

"Girls gotta pay her way through College somehow, right?" She said, raising her own glass to him, having mixed herself the same drink.

Rick smirked, clicking his glass against hers and knocking back the rest of his drink.


	4. I'm Fine, We're Fine

**Come What May**

Ch.4: I'm Fine  


"So, you were a barmaid?" Rick asked Andrea.

She was laying on the bar, one knee raised, the other leg extended so that her foot dangled off the edge. He was sitting on one of the barstools, his glass of Andreas own cocktail in his hand.

"Mmm. All through College. Same bar, too. It was a Piano bar." She replied.

"Sounds pretty fancy."

"Not really." She laughed, "Pretty funky crowd of people used to hand around there. Fun people, not very sensible people. Used to get pretty shitfaced almost every night, had a lot of stay behinds."

"Sounds like you had a pretty fun time in College." He replied, smirking at her short anecdote.

"You didn't go to College?" She asked, turning on her side, putting her hand beneath her head.

"I went straight out of High School into the Police Force. Followed my dad into it."

"What about in High School? You never went out and partied till dawn?" She laughed and finished her drink, sitting up to pour herself another hearty helping. She topped up Ricks glass and then looked at the empty bottle in her hand. "Lot of alcohol."

"I was never into that. I was with Lori in High School. We used to have date nights." He smirked at the memory, "Real wildfires, we were."

"I never really had a long term relationship in High School. Come to think of it, I've never really had a long term relationship, ever."

"Never?" Rick asked, standing and pulling himself to sit on the bar at her feet. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up, so she sat facing him. She shook her head. "Wow. Can't really imagine that."

"Never. Just a lot of short...flings, I guess. _A lot._" She admitted, shrugging nonchalantly. Rick raised his eyebrows.

"Never would have had Andrea the lawyer pegged as a loose party girl." He admitted, the alcohol loosening his tongue. She looked affronted, her glass halfway to her mouth. She reached out with her free hand and shoved his shoulder. Laughing, he raised his own glass. "To Andrea the lawyer-slash-floozy." He joked and she rolled her eyes, but clinked her glass against his anyway, shrugging.

"What can I say, your gender is very easy to manipulate and when I was younger I enjoyed proving to my parents that I wasn't the perfect little princess they thought they'd raised."

"And the best way you knew to do that," Rick stated, "Was by having sex with a lot of guys?"

"Hey, now. Who said I slept with them all?" She called him out, looking offended by his assumption.

"Did you?"

She didn't answer, instead a secretive little smile played on the corners of her lips and she raised an eyebrow. "I'll leave that to your imagination, Cowboy."

Rick closed his eyes and she watched his face, her glass lingering near her lips. His face spread into a smile and she rolled her eyes. "Save your vulgar imagination for when you're alone, please?"

"Can't. S'hot."

"Oh, Rick, you're such a guy!"

A deep rumbling chuckle came from within his chest and he lay his head down on the bar. Immediately, her hand went to his hair and she began slowly stroking his head, closing her own eyes as she did so. He'd locked all of the doors, they'd made sure the place was secure and she didn't think either of them were in the mood to be worrying about who was going to keep watch. His hair was soft under her fingers and he sighed peacefully. She suddenly paused, feeling that they were both getting far too comfortable with this little set up.

"Don't stop." Rick said, softly and she looked down at him, but didn't resume her action. His eyes opened and caught hers. He seemed to understand because he sat up straight away and moved away from her, towards the bench seats, covered with worn looking cushions. Sitting down, he placed his glass on the table and put the back of his hand to his lips.

"What did he do to you, Andrea?" Rick asked and she looked up at him, sharply. "I have to know. What did he to you?"

Silence hung in the air, tangible and tense. She wanted to drop her eyes, tear her own from his, but somehow she couldn't do it. The moonlight illuminated his face and she could see the anger that had taken him over before bubbling just beneath his surface. She inhaled slowly before sighing and walking over to where he sat.

"Don't matter." She replied, sitting beside him and forcing a smile. "I'm fine. See?"

"It damn well does matter, Andrea! It matters to me!" He spat.

"He hit me, OK? He backhanded me and threw me across the room, he dragged me to my feet by my hair and then he took me to his bed. Is that what you wanted to hear, Rick? Does that satisfy your need to have yet another reason to take him down?"

He looked sharply away from her, his hand balling into a fist. She could see the whiteness of bone through his knuckles and, sighing, took his hand in both of hers. Still he wouldn't look at her.

"I can't...The thought of him touching you, having you..."

"Rick, I'm fine." She insisted, "He's scum, yeah, but I'm fine. There's nothing he can do to hurt me anymore. Except hurt one of you. Thats why, first light, we need to get back to the others." She looked down at the floor before sighing and dropping the bombshell on him. "Because someone told me he's attacking tomorrow."

Rick didn't look at her in shock the way she expected. He simply nodded, his eyes on the floor, and shook his head. "And I'm not there to protect them. Can't go back tonight. Wouldn't make it."

"We'll leave at first light." Andrea stated, the soft and playful atmosphere of earlier gone. Rick nodded and turned his hand up in hers, holding hers back, the way she held his. They sat like that for a long while before he finally looked at her. His other hand came to rest gently on her bruiseless cheek. He tilted her head, once again surveying her wounds and she watched the anger threaten to spill over once more. Her own hand reached up to take his and she turned her face, kissing his palm.

"I'm fine, Rick." She said, between kisses. "I'm fine!"

Watching her lips spread kisses across his palm, hearing her voice, almost pleading for him to believe her, gave way to the feelings he'd been supressing ever since she'd come back and he'd forced her against that fence. The anger, the violence he showed her, it was all just a cover up. He knew it. He wanted her to know it. He wanted her to know how much he'd missed her, how disgusted he'd been to learn that they'd left her, how much he'd blamed himself. He'd hated himself for it and he'd hated himself more everytime he lay beside Lori, with Andrea in his head, feeling like he owed her, like he'd pay for losing her, abandoning her to the Walkers.

His hand moved from hers, to behind her head, and he pulled her lips to his own. Her lips were dry, as were his own, and he could taste the alcohol on her breath. It made him dizzy. Her hands wound their way through his hair, gripping it so tightly that it would have hurt if he'd been paying attention.

He slipped an arm around her, pulling her closer to him, meshing their bodies together, as close as possible. He felt as if he could never be close enough to her. The scent of her hair, her body, filled his nose, filled his head. She gasped slightly as he pulled her close, her hands moving from his head to his shoulders. For one terrifying second, Rick thought she was going to push him away but instead, she melted into his embrace. She leaned back, laying down on the cushions and he followed.


	5. Caught

**Come What May**

Ch.5: Caught  


Ricks head was whirling; he'd lost all of his senses, drunk on both the alcohol and her. Everything about her. Her skin was hot and soft beneath his hand, as he ran his hand up her back. They were close enough that he could feel her heartbeat and how fast it was beating.

His kisses moved from her lips down to her neck and down to her collarbone, revelling in the little whimpers she gave out in response. Her head fell backwards, allowing him complete access to her marble white throat as he continued to shower kisses over her skin.

Once more, her hands moved into his hair, tugging slightly, as Rick nipped playfully at her skin.

"Rick!" She gasped and he chuckled darkly. Her stomach flipped at the sound, her heart racing as her breath did the same.

His hands moved down, fluttering over her stomach and gripping the hem of her shirt, moving away from her just long enough to slip her t-shirt over her head. Their lips crashed together and Ricks hands slid up her bare back, slowly, teasingly, and she shivered against his body, her hands working frantically at his shirt buttons. His hands moved further upwards again, hovvering over the clasp of her bra and her eyes snapped open.

Suddenly, she pushed him away, shoving him to the floor and landing on top f him.

"Andrea-" She unceremoniously clamped her hand over his face, putting a finger to her lips with a frown. He could feel her tremble on top of him as she moved her hand.

"It's him!"

Rick soon found out what had her spooked when the room was suddenly illuminated as brightly as it would have been on a summers day. Car lamps. The sheer fear on Andreas face, the way he could feel her heart race, had his pulse racing. Part of Rick wanted The Governor to find them, so he'd have the liberty of taking out his other eye and then shooting him straight through the skull.

"We have to move!" Andrea whispered, her voice cracking with fear. She made to move off him and Rick gripped her upper arms, holding her in place. "Rick! Let me go! We have to go before-"

"Well, doesn't this look cosy."

Andrea turned cold in his arms and he twisted his neck around to see the Governor standig behind them, his eyes on her face. Andrea squirmed away from him, gripping his hands and dragging him to his feet. She moved as if to put him behind her, trusting herself to know Philip better than Rick, to be able to read his actions, but Rick was having none of it and moved to stand beside her, their clasped hands hidden between their bodies.

"Philip." Andrea said, in the coldest voice he'd ever heard escape her lips.

"Andrea. Baby." He used the endearment as if it were an insult and by the sour look that appeared on her face, Rick guessed that was exactly how she took it. "You're very good at escaping me, it appears. Temporarily."

"To be honest, it wasn't something I'd planned on making a habit of." She stated, dryly. A sadistic smile appeared on his face and Ricks eyes were drawn to his hand, in which he held, of course, a gun.

"Then maybe you should stop trying to get away." He replied, as he raised the gun to point it directly at her chest.

"You pull that trigger and I'm gonna come back and keep coming after you, anyway." She told him and Rick watched him roll his one good eye.

"Surprisingly, I hadn't forgotten." Once more, that cruel smile returned to his face and Rick felt Andreas hand clasp his own tighter. "But after all that sweet, sweet pillow talk, I know that the one thing you never wanted to be was a member of the undead. I've never been one for giving people exactly what they want."

Andreas hand slid from his own and Rick suspected she was going for the gun which was tucked into the back of her shorts. It was then that he realized; there was no way the Governor was alone.

"You know what," He said, "I don't even know why I kept you around this long. You weren't even that good a screw." He said, venom in his voice.

Rick made to step forwards, seeing red, but Andrea put a hand to his chest, stopping him. There was a sly smile on her face.

"You wanna trash talk, really?" She almost laughed, "How mature of you."

"Only the truth." Rick could tell how difficult she was finding it not to stoop to his level. Her next comment seemed to be the only one she was willing to letslip.

"I tell you what, I sure was glad you found that viagra in the drug store. The one thing _you _really needed when the apocalypse started, huh?"

The Governors eyes turned dark and he turned them on Rick, who looked back at him with equal darkness.

"Sure you can agree with me, huh? Did she disappoint you as much as she disappointed me?"

"Watch your mouth!" Rick told him, his hand flying to his gun.

"You know, Rick, I wanted to hurt you. _You. _By killing those imbeciles back at your little set up at the Prison. But after seeing how cosy the two of you are, how apparently willing you are to give your life for her," He nodded towards Andrea beside him, that dangerous smile settling once more about his lips, "I guess I'll take out two birds with one stone. Or just one _whore, _depending on how you look at it."

As the Governor pulled back the trigger, Rick pulled Andrea to his chest, turning his back on the Governor, praying that the bullet would sink into him and not her. Miraculously, the bullet made contact with neither of them and instead sped right past them. Rick heard is whizz past his ear and felt Andreas hands grip his shirt even tighter wen she heard it herself.

There was a moments silence after the first bullet was fired and then Andrea was shoving him towards the bar and pulling her gun from her shorts, firing madly at the Governor. She didn't move but stayed rooted to the spot, her arms streached out in front of her. For a moment, he could almost picture her in that blue sweater, cowboy hat perched sweetle on her head, blonde curls cascading from beneath it. The smug smile she had worn on that day, however, was nowhere in sight. Instead, there was the same look of determination on her face as there always was when she was firing her gun at an enemy, Walker or otherwise.

The Governor fired again, after avoiding three of her bullets, and Rick watched Andrea fall to the floor, her arm immediately turning red with blood and dove over the bar to her side, gripping her gun and firing at the Governor.

In seconds, Rick had no doubt that the Governors back-up would be traipsing into the bar and would be after them and he couldn't let Andrea be in the middle of that, not while she was injured. Firing one last shot at the Governor, he turned his back once more and pulled her up into his arms, trying to aim the gun at the Governor from underneith her legs and finding it an impossible task.

_Click._

In a moment of pure luck, the Governors gun clicked dry. Out of ammo. Rick took that as a sign and slipped through the bar into the back room, placing Andrea down on one of the Pool tables which as he did so.

Knowing the Governor would be right behind them, Rick shoved his shoulder against one of the other tables, moving it to in front of the door to act as a barricade. Then he turned his attention back to her.

"Andrea? Talk to me."

"I'm fine, Rick!" She insited, though he could see pain in her eyes.

"You're not fine, you're bleeding!"

She shoved herself to her feet, gripping his shoulder to steady herself. She had lost a lot of blood and was losing more, fast. Rick was quick to tear his shirt, tying it like a torniquet around her bicep, just above where the bullet had penetrated her skin.

"Can we focus, please?" She complained, while he fussed over her, "We're a little pressed for time here, Rick!"

"You're gonna be even more pressed for time, if you don't let me do this! You're not gonna have a lot of time left!"

"Yeah, but-"

It was then that they felt the impact on the other side of the door and she jumped. _"Jesus!"_

"Persistent, isn't he!" Rick stated, running to the door on the other side of the room; the back exit. Andrea nodded, her eyes on the door.


End file.
